Match Made In Paradise by Barbara Dunlop (black female authors TXT) 📕

The rain made it frustrating, but he disinfected her hands and gently wrapped them in gauze.

As he worked, Cobra’s ATV sounded in the distance, pulling up beside them few minutes later. He hit the kill switch and pulled off his hat and goggles. “Wow. Great to see you’re okay, Hailey.”

“Came down a little hard,” she said gamely, coming to her feet. “But I didn’t hear anything break.”

“I’ll go have a look.” Cobra restarted the ATV and moved it closer to the plane.

They followed Cobra back to the beaver. Thankfully, the rain had slowed some, although the clouds were still dark, and the wind buffeted them in the open meadow.

“Hear anything before it quit?” Cobra asked, pacing around, eyeballing the overall condition of the plane. “Smell anything? See smoke?”

In situations like this, Silas had to admit it was handy to have a super-fit, uber-powerful AME. Cobra could do a lot more in the field than most technicians.

“Nothing,” Hailey said. “It just stopped.”

“You switched tanks?” Silas asked, though he’d have been surprised if that wasn’t her first move after the engine quit.

“Yes. I tried the boost pump, but it didn’t get me anything.”

“I’ll check the filter,” he said.

“You warm enough?” Silas asked Hailey.

Her cheeks were pale, and that could be a sign of shock. Then again, she had a light complexion sprinkled with freckles on her upper cheeks. He’d always guessed she must be Irish, with her light, almost red-tinted hair. But she didn’t talk much about her past.

“I’m fine.” She craned her neck to watch what Cobra was doing. “Need any light in there?”

Cobra grabbed a few tools and climbed under the engine. “I’m good.”

Silas and Hailey settled back to wait in the rain.

“The fuel had to be contaminated,” Cobra said, climbing back out half an hour later. “I cleaned and serviced the filter. Do you have a tank with WSA fuel only?”

“Rear tank,” Hailey said.

“Good. Switch to that one and give it a shot.”

Silas opened the door and left it that way as he climbed inside.

“Fire it up,” Cobra called out, watching carefully.

“Clear,” Silas called, and both Hailey and Cobra took a reflexive step back.

Silas set the throttle slightly open, counted the blade rotations then turned the mags on. The engine coughed then fired, then started to run. He adjusted the throttle to idle and looked over to see Cobra’s thumbs up.

After a few minutes, Silas shut it down and climbed out of the cockpit.

Cobra began checking the gear, while Silas made his way around the wings. Hailey went to the tail as they checked the control surfaces.

“What do you think?” Silas asked Cobra.

“Up to you,” Cobra said. “I don’t see any reason it won’t fly.” He turned his attention to the meadow stretching off to the north. “Figure you’ve got room?”

“I’ll have to pace it off.” Silas started to walk.

They came to the drop-off and peered down.

“I make it five hundred feet to the edge here,” Silas said.

“That’s too short.” Hailey said, worried.

“Super tight,” Cobra said.

Silas peered into the valley. “Unless.”

Hailey moved up and peered over with him. “Are you kidding me?”

“Theoretically, it should work.” Considering the weight of the load and the meadow surface, if Silas had even the slightest north wind, he could probably get the beaver flying by here. And so long as he was almost flying when he went over the edge, he could point the nose down and gain airspeed.

Cobra came up on his other side to look over. “Theoretically.”

“I can get into ground effect.” Silas was confident of that. “I’ll lose altitude after I go over.” He looked up the valley. “But I’m going to gain airspeed. And the valley’s wide. I won’t get boxed in.”

“You’re slightly nuts,” Cobra said.

“It’s a plan,” Hailey said, looking hopeful. “Ever done it before?”

“No, but I’ve heard tell . . .”

“You’re more than slightly nuts,” Cobra said.

“You guys head for home. Let Brodie know what’s going on. I’ll sit tight until the weather clears, then I’ll see you back at the strip.”

“I hate that I screwed up,” Hailey said as she gazed off at the muted lightning.

“You didn’t screw up. You made an impressive dead-stick landing on rough terrain without breaking your airplane. You’ll have stories to tell.”

“It happened so fast. I don’t even remember most of it.”

Silas grinned. “So, make something up. Make it exciting.”

She scoffed out a laugh.

“You’ve earned it,” he said.

She shifted her gaze to the plane. “You think you’ll be here all night?”

“Probably.” He wasn’t looking forward to huddling his wet self in the cold airplane all night long. He was also starting to wish he’d eaten a bigger breakfast.

Chapter Eight

Everyone in the Bear and Bar was eating and drinking and celebrating Hailey’s safe return. Word of the hard landing had traveled fast last night, and Mia, along with most of the town, had been worried into the wee morning hours that Hailey might have been seriously hurt or killed. Now, after dutifully completing their workday, most of the community had gathered at the lounge and restaurant to have a drink in her honor.

Conversation was loud and lively through the restaurant. People were shoulder to shoulder and the in-house sound system was cranked up, competing with their chatter. The music had a country flare with a catchy beat. The air was warm and close with the aromas of deep-fried savories and grilled meats seeping from the kitchen.

Sitting at a crowded little window table wedged between Raven and Dixie with a few others across from them, Mia felt a little bit more like she belonged in Paradise. She’d spent two full days working at Galina. Once she got past the mini loader debacle, she thought she was getting the hang of it. Well, the hang of some things, anyway.

The guys there had all been super helpful about showing her the ropes, and she was learning from her mistakes. She did worry she was pulling them from their duties sometimes, because they were all super quick to rush to her aid